Company
by Raziel12
Summary: Sometimes, all you need is some company.


**Company**

Weiss fought to open her eyes, but it was so much harder than it should have been. The last time she'd gotten a visitor, it had been her father. The less she thought about how his visit had gone, the better. She supposed she should be grateful that he was still paying her medical bills although she doubted affection had anything to do it with. It was all about appearances and upholding their family name. A dead daughter would have been unbecoming of such a prestigious family.

"Hey."

Finally, Weiss got a look at her visitor. Silver eyes and a warm smile greeted her. "Who… who are you?"

"I just thought you could use a visitor." The dark-haired woman put down the newspaper she'd been reading. "I come here every day, but I've never seen you get any visitors. I mean… there was that one guy who visited about a week ago, but he didn't seem very nice."

"He… my father." It was hard to speak. Weiss wondered how many drugs were running through her veins. Knowing her father, he'd ordered the doctors to make sure she couldn't finish what she'd started.

"Your father, huh?" The woman frowned faintly. "Is he always like that?"

Despite the situation, Weiss couldn't help but give a short bark of laughter. "Yes. Yes, he is."

"I take it you don't like him very much."

"No, I don't." Weiss coughed. "The only thing he cares about is our family's image. He doesn't give a damn about me or anyone else." She had no idea why she was saying so much to some random person who'd snuck into her hospital room, but now that she'd started, the words just wouldn't stop. "I've spent my whole life trying to make him proud, but he never said a single kind thing to me. He never once told me he loved me or that he was proud of me. And when I… when I…"

"Your mistake," the woman said. "Was cutting across your wrists instead of up."

Weiss closed her eyes. She would have rolled onto her side if she could. Her father's words along with all the pain and shame she'd felt welled up again.

"It's okay." The silver-eyed woman reached out and patted Weiss's shoulder. Gently, very gently, she picked up one of Weiss's hands and traced the bandages running along her wrist. "The world can be a very cruel place, and there are times when it seems like the only option is to just… go away."

Tears prickled at the corner of Weiss's eyes.

"I've seen it happen so many times," the woman murmured. "And people have all sorts of reasons for doing it. I'm not here to judge you or to tell you that you're silly or foolish or stupid or anything like that."

"Then why are you here?" Weiss mumbled.

"I'm here to tell you that I care." The woman rubbed circles on the back of Weiss's hand. "Even if it seems like nobody else cares. I do."

"But you don't even know me."

The woman smiled. "Well, perhaps I should introduce myself. Hi. I'm Ruby." She closed her hand around Weiss's. "And it's very nice to meet you."

"I'm… I'm Weiss."

X X X

Hour by hour. Day by day. Week by week. That was what Ruby had told her to focus on. It was hard, but it was a little bit easier now that she had company.

"Forget your father," Ruby said. They were sitting on a bench in one of the hospital's courtyards. Weiss was fairly sure that at least one of the other people in the courtyard had been paid specifically to keep an eye on her. After all, the cover story of a 'tragic accident' wouldn't hold up to scrutiny if something else happened.

"I don't know if I can." Weiss shivered despite the warm weather. "If I get better, it'll be just the same as it always was. He'll win, and I'll be right back where I started. I'll be just another piece on the board that he gets to move around."

"Then go." Ruby leaned back and gestured vaguely at the sky. "The world is a big place, Weiss. And it's beautiful one. Say, have you ever seen the sunrise from the top of the Mistral Mountains, Weiss?"

"No… I haven't."

"Well, it's beautiful. Maybe one of the most beautiful things in the world." Ruby grinned. "You're a smart woman, Weiss. Your father likes to play the game, so play. Let him think he's won, and then go."

"Go?"

"Take as much money as you can and just… go." Ruby chuckled. "Think of all the places you could see, all the people you could meet. You said your life felt like a gilded cage, so why not leave the cage behind?"

"He'd find me."

"Maybe. Or maybe not. You're smart, Weiss, and it'll be months before you can leave here. Plan. Prepare. Be ready. And when the moment comes…"

"Just go…" Weiss breathed. Was it possible? Could she do it? Slowly, she turned to Ruby. "Who are you really? You come by every day, and the nurses and doctors never stop you or anything. Do you work at the hospital?"

"Sort of," Ruby said. "I spend a lot of time here. I guess, people just get used to me. I try to help, but it's not always easy."

"So… you're like a councillor or something?"

"Or something." Ruby patted Weiss's leg. "The funny thing about helping people, Weiss, is that no matter how hard you try, you can't save everybody. The trick is to remember not only the ones you couldn't save but also the ones you could."

"And which one am I?"

"I think you're one of the ones I save, Weiss. But, really, it's all up to you."

X X X

Weiss got better. It took months, but she got better. Her father, of course, assumed that he'd finally won, that she'd finally come around to seeing the world his way. She bit her tongue and let him keep thinking that. When he finally deigned to visit her again, she just smiled and nodded like the obedient, little doll he expected her to be.

It hurt, but it was worth it. Now that he thought he'd won, he let her see Winter again. Her sister was the only person in her family she could trust. Haltingly, she explained to her sister what she wanted to do.

"I'm sorry," Winter whispered after Weiss had explained. "I… I joined the military, but I left you behind with our father."

"It's okay," Weiss said. "What he did to me… he was doing to you. I don't blame you. But I need your help."

"And you will have it." Winter nodded fiercely. "Anything you need."

"Thank you."

X X X

"Are you sure you're ready?" Ruby asked.

Weiss looked down at her wrists, to where the scars should have been. Of course, they weren't there. Her father had organised surgery to remove them. It wouldn't do for anyone to even suspect what had really happened. "Yes. I'm ready."

"And you've got everything?"

"I do." Weiss smiled viciously. "Dummy accounts with enough money to last me a lifetime, a fake identity just waiting for me, and everything I need to change my appearance and let me disappear." She took a deep breath. "Thank you, Ruby, for helping me."

"Don't mention it." Ruby patted Weiss's hand. "It's been nice getting to know you, Weiss, and it's been nice knowing I made a difference."

"You did make a difference," Weiss replied. "If you hadn't come to visit me that day…" She took a deep breath. "I don't know how to thank you."

"If you want to thank me, then live a good, long, happy life, Weiss." Ruby chuckled. "And maybe, one day, go visit the Mistral Mountains. Watch the sunrise from up there. Trust me, the view is worth it."

"I'll do it." Weiss swallowed thickly. "I promise I will." She paused. "I… is there a number I can reach you at or something?"

Ruby gave Weiss a heartbreaking smile. "Oh, Weiss, you're leaving everything behind, and that's for the best. I help people when I can, but I think, I hope, that you don't need my help anymore."

Weiss nodded slowly. "I understand." She stood up. "I'm leaving tomorrow, Ruby. Thank you so much."

Ruby stood up. "You're welcome."

X X X

Weiss left the next day, and pandemonium erupted.

The Schnee Heiress had disappeared with more than a hundred million lien. It was an absolute scandal, and it was in all the papers. On her way out, Weiss made sure to send several letters and recordings to certain publications detailing the real reason she'd been in hospital. It was glorious.

And Weiss was already far, far away by the time her father even realised what had happened.

Winter had come through for her. As a specialist working for the government, Winter had contacts, and she'd called on them to craft Weiss a new identity that would stand up to even the most stringent scrutiny.

And so Weiss vanished.

She spent her money frugally, spending a year or two at a time in one place before moving on. She saw the world, and it was beautiful. She loved too, and that was beautiful as well even if she never did settle down. Still, she made friends, real friends, and the years passed filled with warmth and affection. Her past life, the life she'd left behind, felt more and more like a bad dream that she'd finally woken up from.

And then one day, she looked into the mirror and she saw an old woman staring back at her, an old woman with laugh lines and a megawatt smile. And then she remembered one place she hadn't visited yet, a place she'd promised to go.

So she went.

And just before sunrise on a cold, windy morning, Weiss stood alone at the top of the Mistral Mountains. The sun rose, and Weiss's breath caught. It was so beautiful. Faint strands of golden light spilled across the horizon, illuminating the deep, tranquil forest. In the distance, the shimmer of the sea was just barely visible, a glitter, almost like glass, that served as a perfect counterpoint to the endless ocean of green that lay before her.

"Ruby was right," Weiss whispered as she sank onto her haunches on a rock. The climb had taken far more out of her than she'd thought, and she wasn't a young woman any more. In fact, she'd just celebrated her eightieth birthday with some of the locals she'd befriended while learning how to make her way up the mountains. They'd called her crazy for wanting to make the climb on her own, but she'd insisted.

"I usually am."

Weiss gave a cry of alarm and turned, only to find Ruby standing there. "Ruby?" Her eyes widened in disbelief. "You haven't aged a day."

Ruby smiled. She looked exactly the way she'd looked all those years ago. She sat down next to Weiss and put one arm around her. "It's been a while, Weiss."

"It… it has." Weiss leaned against Ruby. She felt cold all of a sudden, and breathing seemed just a little bit harder than it should be. "Why do you look the same?"

"Before I answer that, can I ask you a question?" Ruby said. "Are you happy with the life you've led?"

Weiss thought about the life she'd led. It hadn't always been easy. Starting over after leaving had been scary, but it had been worth it. The things she'd seen, the people she'd met, what she'd gotten to do it… she wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. "I am."

"Good." Ruby grinned. "One more question, and then I'll answer yours. If your life ended now, Weiss, how would you feel?"

Weiss considered the question carefully. "I… I think I'd be okay with that." She chuckled. "We all have to die someday, right? And this…" Her gaze drifted back to the view in front of them. "This isn't such a bad place to go."

"No. No, it's not, Weiss." Ruby ran one hand through Weiss's hair. "You want to know why I still look the same, right?" Weiss nodded. "Aren't you curious about how I got up here, or how I knew you'd be here too?"

Weiss eased away from Ruby and looked into her eyes. Twin pools of silver greeted her, as deep and implacable as the ocean. "I asked the wrong question, didn't I? I shouldn't have asked why you still look the same. I should have asked you who you are."

"Yes." Ruby's lips twitched. "But I think you can guess."

One by one, the pieces fell into place. Nobody had ever reacted to Ruby at the hospital, but Ruby had talked about always being there. And Ruby was somehow here, on top of the mountain, looking exactly the same as she always had.

"You're…" Weiss breathed the last word. "Death."

"Yes." Death smiled back at Weiss.

"I thought Death was supposed to be scary," Weiss replied.

"I can be… for some people. But a good person who has lived a good, long, happy life has nothing to fear from me. All things must pass, and a life well-lived is no different. But it is a gentle passing, like the wind rustling through the trees on a warm spring day."

"Why did you help me?" Weiss asked. "Why… why just me?"

"I try to help as many as I can," Death replied. "But not everyone accepts my help. You wanted help, Weiss. In those moments, as you lingered between life and death, you begged for help. I answered. And here we are. I think it's safe to say that I made the right decision."

"Are… are you here for me now?" Weiss shivered. "Will… will it hurt to die?"

"Oh, Weiss. You died two minutes ago."

Weiss blinked, and she suddenly realised that she was no longer sitting on Ruby's right side. Instead, she was sitting to Ruby's left. On the other side of Ruby was her body. "Oh." She stared at her body. There was a smile on her lips, and she could almost have been sleeping. "So what now?"

Ruby got up and extended one hand. A door opened up beside her. "Now, you start the next part of your journey."

"Where will I go?"

"That's not for me to decide, but I think you'll like it."

X X X

**Author's Notes**

As always, I do not own RWBY. I'm not making any money off of this either.

I wrote this in about an hour after visualising the initial scene with Weiss in the hospital and wondering where it would go. It was written in one sitting without being redrafted, so I apologise if it's a bit rough. Every now and then I get an idea that just demands to be written, and this was was one of those.

Hopefully, you enjoyed it. Sure, it's not fluff, but not everything can be fluff.

And if you are struggling, just remember, you're not alone. There are people who care.

As always I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.


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